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Officers & Executive Committee |
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Minutes for June 2009Thursday, June 18, 2009 Members present: P. Abusali, Denise Berry, Ben Bond, Patrick Buckner, Tony Bumpass, Mary Campbell, Nellie Cano, Stephanie Cardenas, Lawrence Cook, James Cooper, Jackie Dana, Sally Dickson, Lara Eakins, Jeff Ellinger, Suzanne Ewing, Mickey Gonzales, Joe Gregory, Janet Griffith, Martha Harrison, Phillip Hebert, Janice Hejl, Robert Hernandez, Keith Hill, Gloria Holder, Kathryn Kenefick, Charles King, Sarah Kitten, Dianne Kline, David Kruse, Janet Larsen, Sarah Lind, Jennifer McClain, Robert Meyer, Jane Moore, Louise Nelson, Amy Olson, Linda Overton, Stephanie Peco, Lori Peterson, Cynthia Podolnick, Cindy Posey, Tina Radke, Cheryl Rae, Janet Reed, Jo Ann Richmond, Ben Rodriguez, Janell Ross, Tracy Saenger, Candace Shye, Rachel Sidopulos, Jenny Smith, Anne Steele, Heather Vacek, Robert Walker, Marie Warden, Elena Watts, Bobby Wawak, Robert Weisse, Brandy Whitten, Blake Willms, Collen Yarbrough, Jeffery Yeomans Members Absent with Notification: Robert Giles, Ronnie Hunter, David Macha, Jimmy Moore, Luis Zamora (for Sunni Zuniga) Members Absent: Craig Meserole, Barbara Welch CALL TO ORDER With a quorum verified and present, Chair Ben Bond called the meeting to order at 2:00pm. ANNOUNCEMENTS Next month's meeting is scheduled on Thursday, July 16, 2009 from 2:00-3:30pm in the Avaya Auditorium, ACES 2.302. President Powers is expected to speak to the Council. Mr. Bond reminds everyone about the Staff Council Representative Retreat, scheduled on Friday, June 19, 2009. The retreat will be held from 8:30am-4:30pm in the north end of Darrell K. Royal Memorial Stadium, entry through Gate 16. Check-in will begin at 8 a.m. Keith Hill (District 660.2): Will there be parking arranged for the retreat? Ben Bond (District 160.1): There are a limited number of parking passes for the San Jacinto garage. Attendees can park in the garage where they usually park, pull a ticket at the garage and bring it with them to exchange for a plastic ticket at the retreat, and turn in that ticket to the cashier’s window upon returning to the garage.
Mr. Bond moves to the first New Business item, the 2009-2010 Officer Elections and Candidate Statements. He reminds Council members that bylaws outlining each position’s responsibilities are enclosed in today’s meeting agenda, and can also be viewed on-line at http://www.utexas.edu/staff/council/bylaws.html. Mr. Bond announces that Council member Janice Hejl has withdrawn her name for consideration as Vice Chair nominee. Following, Mr. Bond welcomes Nominations & Elections Vice Chair Rachel Sidopulos to open the elections. Ms. Sidopulos presents for Council approval names of the vote counters for today’s elections: Mark Smyth, Erin Waneck and Denise Zuniga.She asks for a motion to approve these individuals as vote counters: Motion 2: Joe Gregory – that Council approve the names of vote counters presented for today’s elections. Second: Unanimous There were no objections; the motion passes. Ms. Sidopulos reviews voting guidelines and opens the polls for eligible members to cast their votes by printed ballot. She reminds members that individuals who are serving as ‘substitute’ representatives for elected representatives are not eligible to cast votes. Ms. Sidopulos announces that officer nominees are invited to give a brief statement to Council. In alphabetical order, nominees present their statements in the following order: Ballots are distributed to Council members, and Ms. Sidopulos instructs everyone that they must sign their name to the member roster as they cast their ballot at the front of the auditorium. After all ballots are cast, polls are closed and vote tellers retire to count the votes.
COMMITTEE REPORTS Committee on Committees Committee Chair Blake Willms reports that the committee is seeking volunteers to serve as Staff Council representative on the Faculty Council. The selected representative would attend monthly Faculty Council meetings and share updates periodically as needed. Tina Radke (District 202): Which position is being replaced? Blake Willms (District 652): Dee Dee Berry’s term has expired, so we are seeking to fill her position. Representatives Mickey Gonzales, Cynthia Podolnick and Ben Rodriguez all indicate they would like to self-nominate and be considered to fill the Staff Council position on Faculty Council. Issues Committee Committee Chair Cindy Posey presents two issues for review: Issue 2009-01: Food Offerings at Pickle Research Center and MCC Building This issue has been submitted with suggestion that breakfast items be provided at the Commons @ PRC and the MCC Building. The Issues Committee recommends that this issue be moved to the Workplace & Environment Committee for further review and research. Motion 3: Jennifer McClain – that this issue be moved to Workplace & Environment Committee for further review and research. Second: Louise Nelson There are no objections; the motion passes. Brandy Whitten (District 712): Can you give us a clarification of where the MCC Building is? Cindy Posey (District 522): It is located on the west side of Mopac; the new name of that building is “West Pickle”. Issue 2009-02: Implementing Wellness Program This issue has been submitted with suggestion to implement a campus-wide wellness program for all employees, including free memberships to Rec Sports Center, “Biggest Loser” type of events and discounts at local gyms. Representative Ben Rodriguez (District 130.2): Some of the issues that Workplace Environment Committee is reviewing and researching involve components of Issue 2009-02, including UT System institutions competing against each other in “Biggest Loser” type competitions. David Kruse (District 491): This issue sounds very good; Kinesiology & Health Education is offering a 12-week lunch/nutrition program, as part of staff incentives. Brandy Whitten (District 712): University Health Services earned a grant with which to perform a wellness system to gauge employee input on likes/dislikes. This can be done with modest commitment of budget and time resources. Recommend this issue be moved to Benefits Committee for further review and research. Robert Weisse (District 530.3): Since many staff work night shift hours, perhaps this issue could include an extension of hours to 1am or 2am at the Rec Sports facility. Jennifer McClain (District 660.1): We are excited to put this program forward to unify employees campus-wide. Division of Housing and Food Services is partnering with graduate students for wellness programs (diet, exercise, fitness, healthy eating). Perhaps we could include other areas, like financial “wellness” programs, in order to broaden our reach to more staff who want to participate. Blake Willms (District 652): There are many discussions on this topic; don’t think it will happen right away. Perhaps we should encourage employees to pursue discounts at local gyms until we can get better traction on this issue in the future. Jeffery Yeomans (District 701): Free memberships to Rec Sports are not realistic. If all employees were given free Rec Sports memberships, then the students would be the only ones paying for their memberships; their memberships are paid for through student fees. If there are other, cheaper gym memberships identified, please let me know. Brandy Whitten (District 712): A wellness program would be beneficial in helping to manage health insurance and workman’s compensation insurance costs, making a strong argument for this type of program on campus. Rachel Sidopulos (District 402): The Comptroller’s Office has a wellness program, which allows employees to take off one hour per week, with supervisor approval, for exercise classes, including yoga classes. UT Law School has weekly yoga classes also. Motion 4: Brandy Whitten – that Issue 2009-02 be moved to Benefits Committee Second: Linda Overton There were no objections; the motion passes. Ms. Posey advised that there is one more issue to present – Issue 2009-03 – for which the wording would be presented at the Council retreat tomorrow. Vote tellers returned to the general assembly and announced results of the 2009-2010 officer elections: In the election for Staff Council Vice Chair, Jackie Dana received forty-three (43) votes; Joe Gregory received seventeen (17) votes. Jackie Dana is announced as 2009-2010 Staff Council Vice Chair. In the election for Staff Council Recording Secretary, Janice Hejl received thirty-eight (38) votes; Cynthia Podolnick received twenty-three (23) votes. Janice Hejl is announced as 2009-2010 Staff Council Recording Secretary. QUESTIONS FOR THE COUNCIL There were no questions for the Council at this time.
Second: Unanimous The Staff Council general assembly meeting adjourned at approximately 3:35pm. |
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